Health and Social Care Award Nominee

A team of local health and social care staff and service users have been nominated for a prestigious Health amp; Social Care Awards 2006.

 The team have been short listed from several hundred applications for the Queen Mother’s Award for Dignity in Care of Older People and have reached the final four.

The awards ceremony will be held at the London Hilton Metropole on 26 February 2007 where Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt will present the winner with their award. Winners will also get £15 000 to continue their work around dignity and the team already have big plans to use the money for an anti-ageism poster campaign if successful.

The nomination relates to a project initiated by Rochdale Older Peoples’ Champions Group back in 2005 led by Jackie Taylor, Clinical Lead District Nursing for Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT and Tracey Williamson, Nurse Consultant Older People formerly Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust but latterly Research Fellow University of Salford. Working alongside Hopwood Hall College media students, Debra Harding amp; Amanda Hewitt and the Rochdale User/ Carer Forum, the team designed and produced an anti-ageism video.

Available in VHS, CD ROM and internet versions, visit:

www.ihscr.salford.ac.uk/SCNMCR/projects_anti_ageism.php

The project created a partnership and ignited a new found respect between young and older people.

The seven-minute video uses the images and voices of real Rochdale citizens to raise awareness, understanding and promote positive images of ageing. Local people were quick to participate and were enthusiastic about wanting to help older people have their contribution to society valued. 

Fifteen hundred copies of the video were distributed and evaluation found that the video has reached far beyond its Rochdale origins. Its anti-ageism message has spread across the UK and is being delivered as far away as Canada and New Zealand. The video is mostly being used by educators and staff in care settings such as nursing homes to train students and staff who work in health and social care.

The team are delighted to have had their work recognised on the important issue of ageism. In true Oscar style the team have been filming their nomination interviews in preparation of the awards ceremony, explaining the project to the judges so that it can be broadcast on the night.

Tracey Williamson said: “Being short listed from so many applicants shows that our work has reached a very high standard and we are very proud”.

Jackie Taylor said: “Being recognised in this way helps us to get the message out there that preventing ageism is everybody’s business”.

Vera Hirst, Older Peoples Champion in Rochdale said: “The enthusiastic involvement during the whole process was more important than the product”.

The project has successfully inspired multi agency partnership between organisations working to achieve a common goal of rooting out ageism. Involving older people themselves in the design and making of the video has given them a sense of ownership of the initiative.

Partners in the project include:

• Heywood, Middleton amp; Rochdale Primary Care Trust
• Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
• University of Salford
• Pennine Care NHS Trust
• Hopwood Hall College
• Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
• User/Care Action Group
• Age Concern Metro Rochdale